What is Behind the Recipe?
Each month, I (LINK’s digital editor and newsroom food aficionado) am going behind the scenes with a local chef, bartender or barista to learn how their recipes came to be and what makes them unique.
This month, we’re stopping by Roebling Books and Coffee to hear from barista and event director Fynne Brennan.
The recipe for Roebling Books and Coffee’s success is its people and the community they create.
“We’re not just a place that sells coffee or a place that sells books, but we’re a hub for the community,” said Roebling Events Director and barista, Fynne Brennan.
The Covington location where we spoke with Brennan sits right in the shadow of the Roebling Bridge. It was also once home to the office of John Roebling, the civil engineer who designed the bridge and is the inspiration behind the shop’s name.
Brennan said that the building was bought and turned into offices in 2009, but people around Covington continually mentioned that the city needed a bookstore and a coffee shop. In 2014, owner Richard Hunt decided to make the ground floor of the building both.
Hunt is still the owner in 2025, and Roebling Books and Coffee has now opened three separate locations, all inside historic homes.
One, being the original Covington location, the other in Newport’s historic East End neighborhood and the third, which is reopening this week on Sixth Avenue in Dayton.
Each store sells books and coffee (and the Newport location even has a kitchen offering breakfast sandwiches and soon soup), but the Dayton location is offering something different.
Originally opening in 2023, the Dayton location has had some struggles and had to close for a while. But now, it’s returning, offering a dedicated artists’ space where local artists can host workshops and even rent a booth for selling their wares.
“It’s a really good opportunity for local artists, specifically with a focus on queer and marginalized local artists, to get their work out there,” said Brennan. “That is really what the Dayton space is going to be all about.
Brennan told LINK that when people start working at Roebling Books, they typically stay for a while. Partly, she said, this is due to the general environment and vibe of the space.
“I’m sober now, so coming into a space like this that’s just relaxed, and there’s coffee and there’s books, and everybody has the same morals and ideals, and is on the same page,” said Brennan. “It’s just really nice. And I foresee myself being here for a while.”
So, what about the recipes? That’s what this is about, right?
Behind the customer favorites
We asked Brennan what the customers loved the most, and she immediately had two answers: the Muddy River, a dark chocolate caramel latte, and the Red Legs, a raspberry and white mocha latte.
Brennan estimated that those two lattes often make up 50% of their daily sales.
Roebling Books and Coffee makes their lattes the traditional way, using espresso and any milk type you’d prefer, with specialty syrups added if desired.
Both their espresso and coffee are sourced locally, the espresso coming from Seven Hills Coffee Roasters in Cincinnati, and their standard coffee beans from Proud Hound Coffee, also in Cincinnati.
Behind the seasonal sips
The syrups used for most of their drinks are purchased, but Brennan said they create one of two flavors in-house each season.
The one on tap now – the maple apple brown sugar, which is made by cooking down brown sugar, maple syrup, apple cider and cream of tartar into a syrup.
Syrups can be used any way you want, but right now, they’ve got a honey mapple apple latte using both the house-made syrup and honey, as well as a maple apple cold brew.
Also on the seasonal menu is a toffee nut mocha, a pumpkin spice latte (of course) and a s’mores hot chocolate. They’re also doing a “cider bar” offer hot apple cider and “Todd’s Caramel Apple Cider” with steamed oatmilk and cinnamon.
So, how do they pick their seasonal flavors?
“Typically, it’s a staff member has an idea and speaks it into the universe, and is like, ‘Hey, I have this idea for a drink.’ And then we go from there and decide whether or not to put it on the next seasonal menu,” said Brennan. “Our menus typically last three to four months. So every few months, people will kind of just come to us and say, ‘Hey, I have this idea. Do you think we could add it to this menu?’”
Recommendation corner
Right now, Brennan said her go-to is a cortado, which is equal parts espresso and milk, and she often enjoys it with a pump of syrup.
If you love the taste of coffee, Brennan, go for a cortado, “it’s kind of like a latte, but less on the milk, so you get more of that coffee flavor.”
She also recommends a traditional macchiato (which is NOT like a Starbucks on, she said), “it’s just espresso, and like a dollop of foam. So you’ve got a little bit of that foam taste, but mostly very coffee-forward.”
Lattes, she said, can be for the coffee lover who just wants something a little sweeter. They can also be for people who don’t like coffee, “we can do a really sweet flavored latte to cover up the coffee taste if they still want that, like caffeine hit.”
Also, for people who don’t like coffee, Brennan said they offer matcha and tons of teas.
Coming up, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is working with Roebling Books and West Sixth Covington Haus for a “Boozy Book Fair” fundraiser on Oct. 25 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. This event will be held at 100 West Sixth in Covington. Find out more here.
Roebling Books and Coffee is located at 306 Greenup St., Covington, 601 Overton St., Newport and 301 6th Ave., Dayton. Find more information at roeblingbooks.com.